Draxxar, The Automata Commander
Check out my other champions: *Inkha, The Phantom Edge *Lor'Mak, The Void Destructor *Adria & Lianne, The Twin Souls *Klishma, Messenger Of Light *Aerith, The Scrap Genius *Rhus, Lord Of The Swamp , is the very first commander-type mage that is introduced into League Of Legend. Unlike champions with pets like or , Draxxar can actually command their movements and attacks, thus creating a new play style in which players must learn how to micro-manage their summoned units, similar to . With Draxxar, I am very glad to re-introduce the concept of the champion that has more than one type of pets. Each type of pet, in turn, has their own unique abilities, which is previously seen on the pre-rework . In addition, I am very proud to introduce a new mechanic, where the strength of ability is limited by Statik charges. The player must decide whether to spam the ability for weak effects, or wait long enough for the ability to get stronger before using it. Lore Draxxar= Draxxar used to be a high-ranking commander of the Noxian Army. Over the years on the battlefield, Draxxar has led the Noxian Army to its greatest victories, as well as witnessing its greatest defeats. Despite of old age, he still remained as one of the best commanders of the Noxian Army. However, he was finally discharged after nearly 40 years of service when returned home and performed a political purge all over Noxus. Although Draxxar considered this as an insult, he knew he was much luckier than those corrupted Noxian officials that Darius decapitated himself, and accepted his retirement nonetheless. Following his retirement, Draxxar was recruited by W.O.L.F to lead one of its most elite platoons, and had had great success. Draxxar’s days on the battlefield seemed to have come to an end when he and his men were ambushed by the enemy, and Draxxar himself is wounded by a stray bullet. Draxxar stood back up almost immediately, claiming that he had no time for medical treatments while his soldiers were still fighting without a leader. His action inspired the whole unit, and they fought valiantly to defend their position. Reinforcement finally came hours later, and Draxxar collapsed in the arms and tears of the survivors. Draxxar’s body was then taken to Zaun, and is supposed to be revived by the renowned scientist Dr. Stanwick Pididly . However, it was the young that stepped up to the challenge, claiming that he can do just as well, if not better than his mentor. Viktor envisioned Draxxar to be the very first fully-augmented citizen, and worked day and night on this project. Using the best materials he could find, Viktor wanted to make Draxxar become the example of what the Glorious Evolution could offer to its follower. His work caught the attention of the media, and people finally had a second thought about Viktor’s doctrine. The day Draxxar returned to W.O.L.F, it was really a celebration. However, everyone’s heart sank when Draxxar stepped through the door, not as the commander that they used to admire, but as a figure that is covered in metal from head to toe. Over time, people realize that it was not just his flesh body the he has lost: Draxxar no longer talks to his soldiers like he used to - in fact, he barely speaks to anybody at all. He treats soldiers’ lives as if they were just numbers, and he devises strategies based on cold calculations. He gives orders without hesitance, and expects total compliance. Until now, W.O.L.F soldiers still wonder whether any last bits of Draxxar’s humanity is still inside that metallic body, or it is just a human-shaped machine that has his voice. |-| W.O.L.F= The World Order and Liberation Forces (W.O.L.F) has a long history that dates back to the establishment of Zaun. Back then, the city was faced with the threat of invasion from the Noxian Empire. On the sea, trading was disrupted due to constant pirate attacks from Bilgewater. It was clear that Zaun needs a military force in order to protect its benefits, as well as its future. As a result, Zaun ‘s Citizen Army was established. However, the Noxian invasions never reached Zaun, and the number of pirate attacks had dwindled ever since the establishment of the army. As a result, when the chem-barons came into power in Zaun, they believed that an army is no longer needed, and decided to disband it. The officers of Zaun’s army instead reorganized it into a mercenary force, and adopted the name W.O.L.F. The so-called Zaun’s army now serves whoever gives the highest bidding. W.O.L.F prides itself for the use of cutting-edge weaponry, as well as its well-trained soldiers. Recently, small armed conflicts have sparked all over Runeterra, and W.O.L.F presence at these conflict zones has given them popularity. Yet, there is evidence that W.O.L.F agents have been seen in these areas just before the fighting began, which suggests that W.O.L.F is responsible for starting these conflicts. When the Institution Of War was built, W.O.L.F have openly criticized it. They see the Field Of Justice as nothing more than a bandage solution to war, and that all nations will eventually choose to fight each other face-to-face on the battlefield just like before. As a result, W.O.L.F has sent some of its most elite soldiers to Summoner’s Rift to demonstrate the quality of its service, as well as to advertise its image as an alternative to the Institution Of War. Abilities seconds |range = 400 |targeting = Minion |affects = Minion |damagetype = |flavor = |notes = }}Note: Droid Soldiers gains bonus stats compared to normal minions (See table below for details) *General bonus stats (applies to all types of Droid Soldiers): *Unique bonus stats (applies to specific types of Droid Soldiers): Draxxar constantly stores all excess energy as Energize stacks, which takes to stack up to 100. If Draxxar has at least 40 Energize stacks, he can activate Energy Discharge. |description2 = Draxxar consumes all current Energize stacks to blast the enemy, dealing based on the number of stacks consumed and, apply on-hit effects. |description3 =If Draxxar discharges at least 70 Energize stacks, Energy Discharge will also the target for 0.75 second. At 100 stacks, the blast also splashes 70% of the magic damage to all nearby targets. |leveling = 1.8 / 2.1 / 2.4 / 2.7 / 3 72 / 84 / 96 / 108 / 120 180 / 210 / 240 / 270 / 300 126 / 147 / 168 / 189 / 210 |cost = 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 Mana + All Energize Stack |costtype = |cooldown = None |range = 550 |targeting = Enemy |affects = Enemy |damagetype = Magic |flavor = |notes = }} Draxxar is accompanied by a Drone, which constantly seeks for any enemies within range and attack them at 1.25 , dealing . The Drone’s target can be designated using Call To Arms. After 8 seconds of not attacking, the Drone will gain for 5 seconds upon entering combat again. Draxxar commands his Drone to accompany an allied champion or Droid Soldier, and attack all enemies around them. Switching between allied units prolongs the duration for an additional 3 seconds. |leveling = 24 / 30 / 36 / 42 / 48 |cost = 50 |costtype = Mana |cooldown = 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 seconds |range = 500 (attack range) / 1000 (cast range) |targeting = Allies |affects = Enemy |damagetype = Magic |flavor = |notes = *The Drone will blink back to Draxxar if the target is too far away }} Draxxar deploys an energy gate perpendicular to the direction he is facing, which lasts for 6 seconds. All projectiles from allied units that pass through the gate will be infused with energy, causing them to deal . (Bonus damage reduced to 35% for AoE damage sources). |description2 =In addition, all allied champions and Droid Soldiers who passes through the gate will gain a shield that lasts for 3 seconds. The shield cannot be applied on the same target more than once every 4 seconds. |leveling = 30 / 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 / 200 |cost = 70 |costtype = Mana |cooldown = 18 / 16.5 / 15 / 13.5 / 12 |range = 900 (cast range) / 500 (gate width) |targeting = Aliies |affects = Enemies |damagetype = Magic |notes = * The bonus magic damage is applied as on-hit damage if it empowers a basic attack, and is applied as spell effects if it empower projectiles from abilities. *Basic attacks and projectiles from pets and summoned units (such as ’s plant or ’s turrets) will also be enhanced. }} Draxxar starts the game with one rank in Call To Arms and can rank up the ability at level 6, 11, and 16. Leveling up the ability grants one Evolution Point that allows him to upgrade one type of Droid Soldier, giving them a unique ability. Draxxar can check the item shop to upgrade his Droid Soldiers. Opens a special menu on top of Draxxar’s portrait that shows 4 types of Droid Soldiers, as well as their current quantity in the Barracks. Choosing one will summon all available Droid Soldiers of that type from the Barracks to Draxxar's side. While there are active Droid Soldiers, Call To Arms can be used to move them to the target location. Droid Soldiers will last for 25 seconds, after which all remaining Droid Soldiers will return to the Barracks, and Call To Arms will be put on full cooldown. |leveling = |cost = 100 |costtype = Mana |cooldown = 30 / 27 / 24 / 21 |range = |targeting = Minions |affects = Minions |damagetype = |flavor = |notes = }} Strategy *Draxxar is a commander-type mage who relies on his summoned units – the Droid Soldiers – in order to deal damage. He brings a considerable amount of mixed sustained damage to his team: his Droid Soldiers deal physical damage with their basic attacks, while Draxxar himself deals magic damage with his abilities. In a sense, he can take both the role of an carry and an carry. He is also a very good split-pusher due to the fact that he can use his Droid Soldiers to clear minion waves and tank turrets. *Draxxar and his Droid Soldiers demonstrate the true meaning of a one-man army: His Tank Droids serve as front-line units that absorb damage. His Knight Droids act like bruisers that deals moderate damage as well as being relatively hard to kill. Sniper Droids resemble AD carries and deals damage from afar. Artillery Droids deals AoE damage with splash attacks, which serve as the squad’s mage. Finally, the Drone will accompany the Droid Soldiers and defend them from nearby threats, acting as a support. Draxxar himself has full control of the squad and makes strategic decisions to achieve his goals. *The longer Draxxar can survive, the more value he will bring to his team. However, there are two clear weaknesses that Draxxar has: he lacks mobility, and has no crowd control to protect himself. Therefore, proper positioning and teamwork is needed. *While Draxxar is phenomenal in team fights, he is quite vulnerable during the laning phase because. This is because there are no teammates to protect him at this point. As such, he should play safe and wait to shine at later stages of the game. *Draxxar’s innate, Touch Of Creation, allows him to “convert” minions – either allied or enemy – into special units that he can control. However, it should be noted that using your own minions to create Droid Soldiers is a bad idea, since it makes that wave unable to push hard enough. As a result, it is usually better to use enemy’s minions instead, unless you are trying to freeze the wave. *Be noted that normal minions do gain bonus stats as the game goes on. Therefore, it is crucial that Draxxar uses Touch Of Creation regularly to make sure that his Droid Soldiers get the latest stats. * The choice of which type of Droid Soldier that Draxxar needs, however, depends much on the context: **''Knight Droids'' yield the highest amount of damage due to their bonus attack speed. However, being a melee unit means that they have very little chance to survive. **''Sniper Droids'' can deal damage from range, which eliminates the need to get up close to the enemy like Knight Droids do. However, their range at early levels is not that impressive. In addition, they do not have the attack speed like Knight Droids do, which limits the amount of damage they can deal. **''Artillery Droids'' have slightly less range compared to Sniper Droids. However, they deal more damage and are more durable compared to Sniper Droids. They also have bonus armor penetration, which makes them deal more damage to both enemy champions and structures. **''Tank Droids'' are the rarest type of Droid Soldier. This is due to the fact that Tank Droids can only be created from Super Minions. Nonetheless, Tank Droids are the most powerful of all Droid Soldiers, capable of both absorbing and dealing very large amounts of damage. In addition, Tank Droids are most effectively used to siege the enemy’s Nexus and end the game. *''Overload Shock'' have different uses based on how long Draxxar let it recharge. Don't forget that Overload Shock have the same mana cost regardless of how long he waits. Therefore, whether the player should use it immediately or wait for bonus effects depends much on the situation. **The ability can be used as a spammable spell if the player chooses to use it immediately at 40 Energize stacks. Since the empowered attack applies on-hit effect, using it as a basic attack reset is very useful. However, by using it as soon as it is available, the player cannot make full use of other effects that the ability could offer. **In addition, Overload Shock can be used as a control tool at 70 Energize stacks or more. The 0.75-second silence seems small, but it can be used to interrupt channeling abilities. In addition, it prevents the enemy from using abilities for a short moment, which can inhibit their aggression. **At 100 Energize stacks, the ability is used at its full potential. Not only can it silence the main target, it can also deal AoE damage. The 100 stacks should be best used for team fights or split pushing. *''Hextech Parameter Defender'' provides a sustained source of single-target damage for Draxxar. The Drone constantly searches for nearby enemies and attack them, allowing Draxxar to defend himself from enemy threats. **Otherwise, Draxxar can command his Drone to accompany an allied champion or Droid Soldier. By doing this, his Drone can still deal damage with Draxxar having to get dangerously close to the enemy. **Upon entering combat, the Drone will gain bonus attack speed. Draxxar can order the Drone to constantly guard different allies to prolong the Drone's attack speed duration. **Remember that Draxxar can choose the target that the Drone can attack using Call To Arms, rather than letting it attack random targets. *''Energy Gate'' provides a superb amount of utility. It empowers the basic attacks of ranged units - including Draxxar’s Drone, Sniper Droids, and Artillery Droids – allowing them to deal even more damage. For Draxxar’s front-line units, namely Knight Droids and Tank Droids, Energy Gate gives them a shield that helps absorb damage. The same bonuses are also given to allied champions should they be able to take advantage of them. *''Call To Arms'' is mainly used to control Droid Soldiers and Defense Drone. When leveled up, Call To Arms allows Draxxar to upgrade one type of Droid Soldier that he wants. The type of Droid Soldier to evolve, however, depends once again on the purpose: **Evolved Knight Droids can stack up true damage on their basic attack. If let alone, they can reach to the point where damage would be devastating, and they can mow down everything on their path. Multiple Knight Droids will also act as a barricade that blocks the way, and the game’s pathing system will force the enemy to walk around them in order to reach your teammates. **Evolved Sniper Droids deal damage with their basic attacks from distance, and have the ability to reduce their target’s armor. This is very beneficial, since Droid Soldiers deal mostly physical damage. The armor reduction also helps greatly when dealing with tanky champions, and aids your team’s AD Carry. **Evolved Artillery Droids can deal splash damage with their basic attacks, which is very effect against groups of enemies - minions or champions alike. They have the range advantage just like Sniper Droids do, which increases their chance for survival. However, Artillery Droids are created from Canon Minions, which makes them quite hard to summon. **Evolved Tank Droids can knock back the enemy they are attacking, which adds a significant amount of crowd control to your team. This ability can also be used to cancel channeling abilities if your Overload Shock is not ready. However, due to the rarity of Tank Droids, the player should think twice before spending an Evolution Point on them. *''Touch Of Creation'' takes away one minion from your minion wave. This is actually a good thing, since it denies farm from your enemy. **During the laning phase, Draxxar should preferably use Touch Of Creation to convert either a Caster minion or a Siege minion due to their range advantage, allowing them to survive longer compared to Melee minions. **Otherwise, Draxxar can command the Droid Soldier to walk into the enemy turret’s range or minion wave and kill itself, thus making the enemy unable to get gold from last-hitting them. **In addition, Draxxar can command one of his Droid Soldiers to guard a nearby bush so as to avoid jungle ganks. However, creating Droid Soldiers only to guard bushes is also an inefficient way to use them. *During the laning phase, Draxxar should wait for Overload Shock to be fully charged to 100 stacks before using it, since the splash damage is useful for pushing the lane, and that the mana cost is the same in any case. In addition, if Draxxar uses it at 70 Energize stacks, it silences the enemy for 0.75 seconds, which makes them unable to retaliate while Draxxar walks back to safety. *''Hextech Parameter Defender'' is a good tool for pushing the wave due to the constant single-target damage. In addition, it can be used to help Draxxar farm minions due to the fact that the Drone’s target can be selected with Call To Arms. **The Drone can also be used to harass the enemy: Just use it to protect a Knight Droid. When the enemy tries to kill that Droid Soldier, you can order the Drone to attack them. The enemy must choose between falling behind in creep score, or take some poke damage. **When receiving a gank from allied jungler, Draxxar should use the Drone on his teammate so that it can still deal damage even if Draxxar cannot follow up. **While it is tempting to order the Drone to switch back and forth between Draxxar and his Droid Soldiers for bonus attack speed, this costs quite a lot of mana during the laning phase. The player should only do so when trading with the enemy. *''Energy Gate'' has little use during the laning phase except for all-ins and trades: The shield granted from walking through the Energy Gate helps absorb some damage. It also empowers the attacks from your Drones and ranged Droid Soldiers. The unexpected spike in damage will severely wounding the enemy, or results in a kill for Draxxar. *During the laning phase, using Call To Arms to maneuver Droid Soldiers is very crucial. Draxxar can command his Droid Soldiers to push the wave, freeze lane, or go all-in. This involves a lot of micro-management, which takes time to perfect. *Before a team battle begins, Draxxar should create enough Droid Soldiers so that his team could gain an advantage in damage. Draxxar can use his team’s minions to do so, but there are chances that while your team is fighting, the enemy’s minions will push into your base and destroy your Nexus turrets / Inhibitor. *Again, the player has to decide when and how to use Overload Shock: If the enemy lacks means to reach you, it can be used as a spammable spell; if the enemy is very aggressive, Overload Shock should be used for its silence; in enclosed terrain, its AoE damage could be useful. Be noted that using Overload Shock as a spammable spell drains your mana pool extremely fast. *''Hextech Parameter Defender'' is best used on your team’s front line – either a tanky champion or melee Droid Soldiers. The fact that the enemy team has to deal with your front line means that they will ignore the damage from your Drone. **Switching between allies will give the Drone extra attack speed duration. *Knowing where to place the Energy Gate is also very important. If the gate is placed too far away from your team, the enemy will just walk through it, and your team will have to fight them behind the Energy Gate and get no benefits from it. If Draxxar places the gate to close to the team, the enemy team will just retreat and your team will have to chase them, and possibly walking into a trap. * Using Call To Arms in order to select the enemy champion that you want your Droid Soldier to focus on. In addition, Draxxar should use it in order to relocate his units in a logical order to make sure his Droid Soldier can survive through the whole team fight. Development Hello everybody. It’s me – Peter from Vietnam – and I’m back. I am very sorry for my absence in the past few months. I have been quite busy working on my thesis. As a result, I did not have the time to upload my champion designs. Nevertheless, it did not stop me from having a few cool ideas here and there. In fact, during this time, I have come up with several champion concepts that I can’t wait to share with you. Expect more posts from me soon. If you have been eyeing on my recent champion concepts, you will see that most of them are made to either solve a problem with the meta, or to introduce a new play style. This champion belongs to the latter case. I realize that there would be more space for creativity by exploring new concepts. There were several ideas that came to my head, but one really stood out from the rest of them: A commander-type mage. The idea of a pet-controlling champion is not new to League players. Yet, there are aspects that have not been fully discovered yet, due to balancing issues: Champions can produce pets at a reasonable rate, such as and , usually have very little control over them. In fact, the only command they can give is “Attack this, not that”. Some champions such as and have more control over their pets, but they can only summon them through their ultimate. Immovable pets such as ’s turrets, ’s sand soldiers, and ’s plants are pretty much a zoning tool. For a new concept, I would like to create a champion that has more control of his/her pets, as well as having the choice to upgrade them. At the same time, his/her kit should have more interaction with these pets. The standards for my champion are as follow: *As a mage, my champion should have: a long-range poke, some hard CC, and AoE damage. Preferably, these abilities can be used in combination for enhanced effects. *As a commander-type champion, he/she should be able to produce minions at a fast rate. In addition, there should be multiple types of pets that the player can choose from. *The champion should be able to interact with the minions through his/her abilities, such as shields / damage buffs. In addition, the player also has the choice to upgrade his minions to prepare his team for the late game. *For ease of control, there should be one ability dedicated to controlling these pets (usually the ultimate ability), and is available from level 1. For character creation, I already decided that Draxxar would be a cyborg, and his pets would be robots. I mean, how can you have loyal soldiers that fight for you without question? How can you communicate with your subordinates effectively if you are not one of them? Yet, the android background suggests that Draxxar must either be from Piltover of Zaun, which I am not very satisfied about. I don’t want him to be a creation of a either. I want him to be a bit human so that there will be emotional and psychological aspects that I can explore. Consequently, the hardest part comes down to the champion’s lore, which is something I have never encountered before. To break the ice, I really have to think out of the box and at the same time, lay some foundation for my future concepts. As a result, I created the World Order & Liberation Forces (W.O.L.F) as a new faction – a neutral group that serves no nation except for themselves. With Draxxar, I am very pleased to introduce some of the new mechanics that I believe haven’t received much popularity. I hope that I have created a champion that is not only unique, but is also fun to play. For now, I am going to let you judge the quality of my work. Cheers. Trivia *W.O.L.F soldiers have been sighted during the Noixan invasion on Ionia, even though both governments claimed that they never used mercenaries to fight the war. * The organization believes that when nations make war with each other, there will be one that prevails above all, and brings Order and Liberation to the world. As a result, the organization has adopted the name World Order & Liberation Forces, suggesting that whichever nation that it fights for will surely claim world domination. *For accusation of war crimes, W.O.L.F is being wanted by several governments of Runeterra. Their current whereabouts is unknown. *W.O.L.F soldiers comes from many places all over Valoran, not just Zaun. Patch history Gallery These pictures demonstrates how I imagine my Droid Soldiers to look like. (For some reason, I suddenly miss my childhood and these Yu-gi-oh cards). (>_<) Knight Droids.jpg|Knight Droid (Ancient Gear Knight) Sniper Droids.jpg|Sniper Droid (Ancient Gear Soldier) Artillery Droids.jpg|Artillery Droid (Ancient Gear Tank) Tank Droids.png|Tank Droid (Ancient Gear Golem)